Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Hardcover vs Paperback 150



At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.  

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to
win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

Paperback is winning for me, the hardcover reminds me a lot of generic classic reprint covers. Sounds like an interesting story!

Thanks to Gail who suggested this H vs P!
Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

7 comments:

  1. I'm attached to the hardcover because that's what I read, and loved, but the paperback fits the book better.

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  2. I looooved this book and I love the hardcover. It feels so 80s and fun to me, which represents the book better than the bleak paperback... even though the world in the story IS pretty bleak. This book is seriously great though.

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  3. Paperback is winning for me, it has more visual interest.

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  4. The blurb sounds great but neither cover would catch my attention.

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  5. I like the second one -- it makes me think about the book more.

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  6. The paperback cover is growing on me. . . .

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  7. If I just saw the paperback, I don't think I'd be interested....but the hardback is just too simple, I agree. Regardless, I heard about this one a long time ago so despite the odd covers (for me) I really really want to read this!!

    -Lauren

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